Yesterday's storm, which right now has parked itself over Cape Cod, dumped 80 cm of snow on parts of New Jersey and pretty much shut down New York:
Morning commuters faced the daunting prospect of cutting fresh tracks in over a foot of snow along roads and sidewalks that looked more like Colorado than the urban north. In New York City, a badly crippled subway system hobbled along, but Long Island Rail Road service remained suspended early on Monday, as did some New Jersey Transit and Metro-North Railroad lines.
The storm’s timing was diabolical — too late for a white Christmas, but just in time to disrupt the plans of thousands of people trying to get home after the holiday, return unwanted gifts or take advantage of post-holiday bargains at stores. Public schools were not in session, much to the dismay of many children.
By 7 a.m. Monday, 50 cm covered Central Park, according to the National Weather Service. The deepest snow was recorded in Elizabeth, N.J., where 80 cm fell. By sunrise, the storm had largely moved on from New York City, heading northeast out past Long Island and up over Nantucket, gradually weakening, the weather service said.
I'm hoping friends out East will send photos. Meanwhile, here's one from the New Year's Eve storm 10 years ago, on 30 December 2000:
I know this will incite some regular Daily Parker readers, but we should get used to storms like this more often. They're a predicted consequence of climate change.